Graduate theses (available in the library)

2022-23
Colors in British, American, Japanese and French Sign Languages

2018-19
1. Reduplicated Words in English Movie Scripts Ogawa
2. Differences in Onomatopoeia in Japanese, Korean and English Versions of One Piece Morooka
3. Necessary Conditions for Realizing a Sustainable Multicultural Society: Through analysis of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
Motoyama
4. English and the Philippine Economy: Comparison with Japan Mita
5. English Education in Finland VS Japan: Comparison of Kumamoto University vs. Helsinki University Tsutsumiuchi
6. English Environment in Finland Honda
7. History of Entrance Examination English in Japan Furuie

2017-18
1. Communication Strategies in “Degawa English" Tanaka
2. Differences between Japanese and English Proverbs about Dogs vs Cats Yokota
3. Japanese English learners anxiety: A Replication of Katanoda (1995) Ohno
4. The Effect of Japanese Vowels on English Spelling Nishimuta
5. “Made in Japan” English in Baseball terms Araki
6. Effect of Colonization & Occupation on English Education in France VS Japan Matsuzaki
7. Of Cicadas and Frogs: Singularity vs. Plurality in Translation of Japanese Haiku into English Ishibashi
8. Japanese Car Vocabulary: From British or American English? Nojima
9. Zero Adverbs of Manner in Late Modern English Literature Fujiki

2016-17
1. Linguistic Landscapes in Downtown Kumamoto Yoshinari
2. The Many Englishes of Meryl Streep Masunaga
3. Application of Voice Production Training Methods to English Education (Nakayama)
4. Racism in World TV Commercials: A Corpus study of the Chinese and Italian Laundry Detergent Commercial (Nakagawa)
5. Creating a Linguistic Landscapes Database for Kumamoto (Mitsunaga)
6. 漫画『MONSTER』から読み解くアイデンティティと社会との関係 (中川)

2015-16 World Englishes 米岡ゼミ Graduation Theses
1. Elementary School English Textbooks in Japan compared with China and Korea (Kakoo)
2. Spread of Japanese kawaii trend in the world: How is it different from kawaii in Japan? (Kawamoto)
3. Cultural Difference In School Vocabulary (Inoue)
4. Valspeak as a female variety of English: Evidence from “Valley Girl” and “Clueless” (Uemura)
5. Differences between American and British Black English in Contemporary Black Poetry (Uemura)
6. Japanese student’s awareness survey about Minnesota program and issues about Japanese students study abroad (Uchida)
7. Gender differences in shyness in Japanese EIL classroom (Baba)
8. Begin vs. Start: Written or Spoken? (Hirabae)
9. New York English in All in the Family (Naruse)
10. Chinese English Pronunciation (Yoshiyama)
11. British attitudes towards to American English (Arase)
12. Japanese Names in English (Furuso)

2014-15 2014 Graduation Thesis
1. Jokes of the World: Which do Japanese Students prefer and why?
2. Japanese Sushi in English: Comparison of Sushi Expressions in Little Tokyo
3. Shame and Guild Cultures in Japan and the United States
4. English Pronunciation Instruction at Japanese Junior High Schools
5. Kawaii in English
6. Collectivism vs. Individualism: the influence of education
7. Onomatopoeia in Japanese and English versions of "One Piece"
8. Disney Movie Translation of "Enchanted": Subtitles vs. Dubbing

2013-14 World Englishes World Cultures Graduation Theses (with Tomei-sensei)
Yoneoka Seminar
1. Difference in temporal adverb expressions of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean English
2. English in Japanese Fashion Magazine Advertisements
3. Proverbs and Idioms about Cats in English and Japanese
4. Teacher’s role in demotivation for Learning English
5. Morphology of Japanese Katakana English
6. Abbreviations and Expression of Emotion in English Chat by Japanese Students
7. Comparing Train Stations in Kumamoto Prefecture from Suizenji to Matsubase
8. Japanese Learners' Recognition and Production of Katakana English

2012-13 World Englishes World Cultures Graduation Theses (with Tomei-sensei)
Yoneoka Seminar
1. Comparison of Stand-up Comedy vs. Manzai in Japan and America
2. Corpus Research of Animal Words in Middle English
3. Attitudes and Perceived Ability in English between High School Students and University Students
4. Comprehension of Expressions of Australian English by other Native and Non-native Speakers
Tomei Seminar
5. British Culture through Harry Potter
6. Japanese Education in Vietnam
7. The Future of English Education in Japan in comparison with the Netherlands

2011-12 Cultures and Englishes of the World Graduation Theses (with Tomei-sensei)
Yoneoka Seminar
1. Comparing English in Hong Kong vs. Taiwan: What are the differences? (Ayako Goto)
2. Influence of Aborigine on other English Varieties: A Corpus Study (Misaki Okamura)
3. Linguistic Interference in Asian Englishes: How Korean and Chinese English are Understood by Japanese Speakers (Yurie Higashi)
4. Elementary School English Education in Japan: A Question of Time (Yoshie Shiosaki)
Tomei Seminar
5. Attraction of Darts (Yuki Tamiya)
6. Irish Folk Music (Narumi Kudo)
7. African American Vernacular English, Slang and Hip Hop (Takahiro Maeda)
8. The Differences between Japanese and American Baseball (Sakito Ishida)
9. Korean Wave in Japan (Manami Nishida)
10. School Lunch in Japan and the UK (Yoshiko Kawada)

2010-11 Englishes of the World: Cultures and Languages (with Tomei Sensei)
1 English in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland 
2 ”Spirited Away”:Japanese culture in the English version of “Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi” 
3 Knowledge and Use of Japanese vs. English Proverbs
4 Minority Issues in Monocultural and Multicultural Environments: Japan and Canada 
5 English Education and Japanese Education in Korea 
6 English Elementary School Education in Korea:Success or Failure? 
7 English Education in China 
8 Japanese vs. English Baseball Vocabulary: History and Present-day Usage 
9 International Volunteerimg and English 
10 Jeans: A story of American Culture
11 English in Disneylands around the World. 
12 Attitudes towards Singlish as viewed through Youtube 

2009-10

2008-9 Languages and Cultures around the World Graduation Theses (with Tomei-sensei)
1. Comparison of the Ideas and Attitudes of KGU Students towards a National Assessment Test of English(Yゼミ)
2. Jacques Brel’s Chansons “Alive and Well” in French and English(Yゼミ)
3. Reculturalization of Hip Hop Music in the US and Japan(Yゼミ)
4. Bilingual Education and Identity in Quebec (Yゼミ)
5. Introduction to Irish Culture: Language, music and a famous man(Tゼミ)
6. Mysterious English and Heiroglyphs (Tゼミ)
7. Net, Jet and Epik: Comparision of English Speaker Programs in Japan, Korea and Hong Kong(Yゼミ)

2007-8 Englishes of the World Yoneoka seminar Graduation Theses
1. A Needs Analysis of Three Shops in Suizenji Using Linguistic Auditing Principles (Risa Kohira)
2. Linguistic Needs and Language Programs to Promote Aso Tourism (Ai Eguchi)
3. Taboo Words in New Zealand : Where does the line of acceptability lie? (Yuichiro Kai)
4. Opinions of Estuary English in Great Britain (Tsuyoshi Shuto)
5. Comparative Study of the Awareness of British and American People of Each Other's Vocabulary (Asami Yamanaka)
6. Bilingual education and Japanese ability of Japanese-English speaking children at a Kindergarten in Kumamoto Japan (Yuki Nishijima)
7. Bilingual education for immigrants in the United States and Japan (Mai Eguchi)
8. Comparing Cultural Aspects of Mac vs. PC advertisements in America, Britain and Japan (Risa Takashima)
9. The Influence of Americanisms on Australian English and New Zealand English: A Corpus Study (Yohei Tsuchiyama)

2006-07
1. A comparison of Phonological Substitutions by Korean and Japanese ESL Speakers 
2. History of Early English Loanwords in Japanese
3. Differences in English Ability between Japan and Korea: Connection with Early English Education Reforms
4. The Englishization of Haiku: A Worldwide Cultural Form
5. Relative Awareness of Kumamoto and San Antonio Sister City Programs
6. English Needs of Kumamoto Travel Information Centers: From the Perspective of Linguistic Auditing

2005-06 Graduation Theses Kumamoto Gakuen University 米岡ゼミ
1. Dialects in the UK: Geordie Accent vs. Scottish Accent 
2. The Economic Influence of Englishes in Southeast Asia – connection between role of English and socioeconomic factors 
3. “Under an English Heaven” Linguistic Imperialism and Cultural Identity in Japanese and African Attitudes towards Names   
4. Organizational Culture: Comparing JAL and Southwest Airline
5. Differences Between “British Indian” (Bend It Like Beckham) and “Indian Indian” (Monsoon Wedding) English and culture
6. Characteristics of Indian English as seen in an Indian Speaker’s E-mail
7. The Impact of Language Revitalization and Social Situation of the Ojibwa People 

2003-04 
1. The Influence of American English on New Zealand English
2. A Study of Dialects of American English: Regional Dialects
3. English Dialects of Northern Ireland
4. 日本の広告表現はなぜ世界で理解されないのか
5. 海外研修による英語学習の目的意識の変化 
6. Differences of English Education in Japan, Korea and China
7. Japanese and English learners’ common grammar errors -- prepositions vs. particles
8. English vs. Japanese rhythm in Children’s Songs and Poems
9. Gairaigo from English in Japanese
10. The Many Englishes of Gary Oldman
11. Differences between UK and US versions of Harry Potter series

2002-2003 Hands Around the World (with Satoh-sensei)
1 A Connection between World Wide English and the Internet World
2 Linguistic and Sociolinguistic Aspects of Swahili and English: A Comparison
3 Relationship between Typological Writing and English and Japanese Pronunciation
4 外国語習得における性格の影響
5 Australian English Through Online Newspapers
6 説得における非言語コミュニケーションの効果
7 効果的英語スピーチ構成要因について
8 The Full Monty: social features and English features

2001-02 Englishes of the World
1 Vestiges of Old English in Modern English Grammar and Spelling
2 Idioms Using "What's ?" in Movies: a Corpus Study
3 The Influence of Modern American English on British English
4 Condition for Immigrants in The United Kingdom in View of Language Education and Culture
5 Contrastive Rhetoric: Comparison of Writing Styles in Japanese and English News Articles
6 The Historical Influence of The French Language on English
7 The Features of Cockney English

Seminar short papers (*available in the library)

2022-23
English Education of Korean Elementary School Children
English in Singapore
Input Hypothesis in Japanese and English Education
The Voices of Miyano Mamoru
What Elementary School English Education in Holland can teach Japan
English in Japan and Australia
Nanpa vs Pick up in Japanese and American Culture
Differences in British vs. American Spelling
Onomatopoeia in Tokyo Ghoul: Types and Translations
Otaku in English and Japanese

  • Vowels in New Zealand English
  • English Education in Korean Elementary Schools

Phonology of Thai Vowels

2021-22

2020-21
A Qualitative Study on Differences in High School English Education between Japan and China
English Pronunciation in Malaysia   
English in Arashi’s Lyrics  
English Pronunciation asTaught by a Japanese Junior High and High School Teacher
Difficult pronunciation in English for Japanese
Greetings and Politeness in English
Ted Talks: From the educational perspective
Slang in English on SNS
Sign Language for Colors of American and Japanese Sign Language
Characteristics of German English Pronunciation
Elementary school English education in Korea compared with Japan
New York City English Pronunciation and Stereotypes
Clothing Names in British English vs American English
Comparing Online Information about Dialects in South Carolina and North Carolina

2016-7
1. Degawa English
2. “A Cicada’s Cry”: Translation of Japanese Haiku into English

2014-5
1. Grey Japanese
2. Linguistics and Video Games
3. Standard English, British English and American English
4. Acronyms English of twitter
5. British English VS American English in Victoria, Canada
6. KGU History
7. English Slang in Glee and Ugly Betty
8. Japanese anime in the U.S.
9. California English
10. English Education in Asia
11. Airline English
12. Popular Culture in Japan
13. Verbal Communication VS Ishindenshin
14. NY English in Gossip Girl
15. Music in English Language Education
16. Fashion English
17. Words in Katy Perry’s music

2013-14 英米学科米岡ゼミ World Englishes
1 Spelling and Word Differences in Canadian English
2 To Study English, is the Sooner the Better?
3 Images of Colors in English and Japanese
4 Difference in Proverbs between Japanese and English
5 Intonation of Japanese Learners of English
6 Basketball English
7 American southern English
8 English and Japanese Abbreviations
9 Difference between Singlish and Singapore Standard English
10 Japanese Education in the US
11 Australian Slang
12 The difference of Gestures between Japan and other Countries
13 Slang in Snoop Doggy Dog Hip Hop Music
14 American and Japanese Jokes

2012-13 Seminar 1 World Englishes Selected Short Research Papers
1. An Analysis of Character Development in A Song of Fire and Ice and One Piece
2. English in Japanese Advertising
3. English Education in Korea
4. Southern American English in “Gone with the Wind”
5. Japanese Pronunciation of English Tongue Twisters
6. Abbreviations in English Chat by Japanese Students
7. Morphology of Katakana English
8. Impressions of Americans about Valspeak
9. English Education in Germany
10. Comparing American and Japanese Tennis English

2010-11 Selected Papers from Seminar 1
1 Vocabulary of Aussie English 
2 English Education in China
3 East Asian Englishes and Linguistic Interference
4 Countries and Nationalities in English Tongue Twisters
5 English Education in East Asian Countries Japan, Korea and China:
6 The Status of English in Quebec, Canada
7 Vancouver English and Home Language

2005-6 Seminar Short Papers
1 Proxemics: Differences between US and Japan
2 English spoken in Malaysia
3 Motivation of Japanese University Students to learn English
4 The Role of English in Thailand
5 Common English mistakes between Japan and Korea
6 Why English, not French in Vietnam? The colonial track of English usage
7 How Japanese thinking influences Japanese English
8 History of Development of American English
9 American Taboo Words
10 Verbs in Japanese recipes in English
11 English Education at elementary school in Japan
12 Development of English Education in Japan: a contrast of the 1947 and 1998 Course of Study
13 Japanese food in English: sushi, sashimi and tofu
14 Advertisements in English and Japanese Versions of Yomiuri Newspaper
15 Ebonics -- Black English
16 Spirit of service in Asian and Western countries
17 Comparing Konglish with Janglish: Differences in usage
18 Influence of Maori in New Zealand
19 Dr. Seuss’s Rhymes in One fish Two fish and Green Eggs and Ham

2002-2003 World Englishes Seminar 1 Short theses and research paper
1. Animal Proverbs in Japanese and English
2. Animal Symbolism
3. Early English Education
4. Italian and English
5. Superstitions around the World
6. Honorific Expressions in English
7. Japanese English Pronunciation
8. Japanese and English Rhythm
9. How did English turn into an International Language?
10. Baseball Vocabulary in English and Japanese
11. English in Trainspotting
12. English and German
13. English in Hong Kong

Seminar short papers (available in the library or from me)

2020-2021
Influence of Japanese Shyness on Learning English
Origins of Katakana English Fashion Terms in Japanese
Origin of Katakana English Terms for Cosmetics
History of English Education in the Philippines
Task-based Language Learning/Teaching: What is it and can it be applied to English teaching in Japan
Gestures in Degawa Englishーwhat is important for international communication?
English Education in Japan using Western Music
Australian English from a Historical Perspective
English Education of Korean Children
Differences in Education for the Deaf in Japan vs. America
Effect of Watching Movies in English on English Majors in Japan 
Gender Differences in English Vocabulary before and after Political Correctness

2019-2020
Business e-mail in English - Ichikado
English Education in Korea –Ideguchi
Hip Hop English in Santaworldview’s Music - Ueno
Expression of English Greeting in America, and Britain - Sugimura
Yabai in English - (Takahashi)
Priority Seating Signage (Tawara)
English in the US Movie “Ted” (Furukawa)
Animal onomatopoeia in English (Fumika)
“Janglish” English in Japan vs. “Chinglish” English in China (Yonei)
Australian English Wada
History of Japanese baseball vocabulary (Nanoha)
Influence of Chinese on Singapore English (Ide)
English Education in Mexico (Shirai)
2018-19
Business e-mail in English - Ichikado
English Education in Korea –Ideguchi
Hip Hop English in Santaworldview’s Music - Ueno
Expression of English Greeting in America, and Britain - Sugimura
Yabai in English - (Takahashi)
Priority Seating Signage (Tawara)
English in the US Movie “Ted” (Furukawa)
Animal onomatopoeia in English (Fumika)
“Janglish” English in Japan vs. “Chinglish” English in China (Yonei)
Australian English Wada
History of Japanese baseball vocabulary (Nanoha)
Influence of Chinese on Singapore English (Ide)
English Education in Mexico (Shirai)
Korean songs in English (Sakata)
Grammar of AAVE (Spurr)
Differences in American English and Canadian English (Maeda)

2010-2011
Singlish vs Speak Good English Movement
Japlish and English
Loan words in Japanese from German
National Business Practices on Japanese and Korean English Ability
Communication between Japanese Students and American Professors
English in K-Pop vs. J-Pop
Japanese in Hawaiian English Newspapers
Pronunciation of Spanish English vs. Japanese English

2003
Polite expressions in English (Request expressions) as seen in “My Fair Lady” 日本語
Linguistic and Social Factors in Chinese English Pronunciation
The English of Native Spanish Speakers
English Education in Korea
The English of Flight Attendants
English of Air Traffic Control
English borrowed from Native American Languages
Maori Influence on New Zealand English
A Cultural History of Selected British English Accents
Differences between US and British English (日本語)
The Scouse Language
Ulster Scots
The Grammar of Black English (AAVE) in the U.S.
The History of Black English (AAVE) in the U.S. 日本語
Non-regional differences of English in England and America
Pronunciation of English-speaking Children
Differences in English used in America and Japan
Difference in the English Ability of Japanese and Europeans
Gestures in Japan and English-speaking countries日本語
A Brief History of English Education in Japan
Task-Based Learning: Teachers’ Challenges
Japalish as an International Language
What is Japanese English?  (日本語)
Phonemic differences between English and Japanese English
Differences in pronunciation of Japanese and US English vowels
Katakana Notation of English (日本語)
Comparison of proverbs in English and Japanese
Misunderstandings caused by Japanese English
Hispanic society and language
Influence of French on Middle English
English in Holland
The Importance of English in India
English in Singapore
Thai English